Pages of Interest

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Interview with J.B. Salsbury

Can you
give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

Fighting
to Forgive is the second book in the Fighting Series. It covers
middleweight, jiu-jitsu black belt fighter Blake “The Snake” Daniels. His
character is introduced in book one as Jonah “The Assassin” Slade’s best
friend. He’s a foul-mouthed bad boy who comes across as one dimensional, but
once the reader gets inside his head they’ll find he’s more complex and more
intense than they could’ve imagined.

Blake has secrets, demons from his past that he covers with
a cocky smile and a dirty joke. Layla is the same. She wears fake confidence
like a uniform hoping no one will see her for who she really is.

Through a series of events, they’re forced to acknowledge
that everything they’ve avoided in each other is exactly what they need most in
order to bury the past and move on.

Have you
ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the
direction of the novel at all?

The closest I’ve come to this problem is with Blake’s
character in Flight. I’ve said before that I believe everyone has an “Inner
Blake”. It’s that personality trait that surfaces after a few too many shots of
tequila. The voice in your head that tells you dancing on the table is a good
idea. It’s that part of you that giggles when someone unknowingly says
something inappropriate, or the part of you that responds to things like “Wow,
that’s really big!” with a “That’s what she said.”

I’m pretty sure that my inner Blake was responsible for his
near takeover. Blake’s personality came so easily and he just flew off the
pages. It’s debatable whether or not he ended up stealing Jonah’s thunder a
bit. I had to hold him back and even cut a few parts from Fighting for Flight
because I thought he would overshadow our hero. Luckily it wasn’t hard to
muzzle him because I knew at that point that his book had to be next. He was
itching to have his story told. Once I started his book I just let him go and
gave him his own pages to play on.

Did you
try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?

No. I knew from day one that I wanted to be an Indie author.
I’d been reading romance for years and had enjoyed the freedom that the
self-published authors had. Their stories were raw, emotional, and some even
controversial. I welcomed the idea of having complete control over my writing
as well as my career. From conception to distribution, I wanted my hands in
every aspect.

I’m not against traditional publishing, and if the
opportunity arose I’d be interested in giving it a shot for the experience, but
I’ve always been a writer for readers. Thank goodness with the direction that
publishing is taking, there’s no need for the middleman any more. Writers can
take their stories and drop them directly into the reader’s hands. I love being
a part of that.

If you
used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the
creative process for your cover?

As a self-published author I have complete control over
every aspect of my cover design. I worked on both covers with my amazing
graphic designer Amanda Simpson at Pixel Mischief. She asked me how I
envisioned the cover, and then took my ideas and expanded on them. The cover
for Fighting for Flight happened
almost instantaneously, but Fighting to Forgive’s cover was much harder. I had
the perfect picture, but the model was covered in tattoos. Amanda had to take
off every single tattoo because Blake doesn’t have all that ink. Once we got
the picture where we wanted it, we worked hard on how to tie the picture into
the space. After going through many different ideas, I finally came up with the
door. It’s a significant as well as symbolic part of the story and once I saw
it all together on the cover I knew. I broke out in goose bumps at the emotion
in conveyed. That was it.

What is
your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?

You can tell from my books that I’m very influenced by
music. There isn’t one genre of music that I wouldn’t listen to. So yes, I
listen to music a lot when I write. There are times when I prefer silence, like
if I’m working on a particularly difficult scene, I don’t want the added
distraction.

Besides getting comfortable and settling in somewhere cozy
with my laptop, I have no writing process other than to put myself with that
particular character and let my fingers record what I see happening in my head.

Do you
outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?

I’ve never outlined. Well, that’s not true. I did try it for
the book I’m working on now and it was a complete waste of time. My characters
have so much to say, I just let them take me on the journey. It’s like watching
a movie in my head. They tell me where they’re at and who’s there, I place the
scene in my head and then push play.

What have
you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?

Wow, how much time do you have? I walked into self-publishing
like a blind puppy, stumbling around and hoping for the best. Everything I’ve
learned was due to plain ole trial and error. I think the most valuable thing I’ve
learned is the importance of surrounding myself with good, honest people. I
have a group of critique partners, other writers who I run my chapters by as
well as brainstorm with, and vent to. They’re the ones who’ll pull me aside and
say, “Hey, you can do better than this. Rewrite it.” I don’t know what I’d do
without them.

There’s also a fabulous writer by the name of Elizabeth
Reyes who is an absolute Saint. She’s a successful self-published author who’s
been in the business and has always been great about allowing me to ask her the
stupidest questions.

Another thing I’ve learned is that the Indie community is
like a subculture all its own. Blogs, readers, other authors, it’s important to
submerge yourself in that world and keep your finger on the pulse of the ever
changing dynamics. Stay on top of the trends, be involved in the hot topics,
make your mark.

Do you
find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and
writing your next book?

Absolutely! I want so badly to throw myself into Rex’s book,
but I’m holding off a little because I want to give him 100% of my attention
and right now I can’t do that. There’s no better feeling in the world than getting
lost in a good book, and writing them is no different. When I plunge myself
into the fictional world of UFL fighters and all the drama that comes a long
with them, I can’t stand to be interrupted. That’s why I usually write after my
kids go to bed or when they’re at school. I love getting lost in the story
completely and leaving my ‘to do’ list behind. That said, I have started Rex’s
book and at chapter two things are already super intense, so I’ll back off
until I can jump back in and give him my full attention.

What
advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing
arena?

Yes, surround yourself with good people. Not yes people, but
honest people. Never ever read your bad reviews. Never. Don’t even touch them.
You’ll think by reading them that you may learn something that could help you
improve. You’re wrong. It’ll do nothing but jack with your writing mojo and
make you question everything. And finally, reading is just as important as
writing. It’s easy to stop reading books when you write. Don’t let that happen.
Find time to get a book in. You’re writing, as well as your mood, will be
better for it.

What’s
next for you?

I’m going to continue writing. I have so many story ideas
and characters swirling in my head, my fingers can’t work fast enough to get it
all out. Next up in the Fighting Series is Rex. His story is going to challenge
every aspect of my writing. The subject matter is darker than I’m used to. Rex
is a songwriter so I’ve been forced to write lyrics, which is new to me too.
And the fMC in this book is a 180-degree flip from the heroines of the first
two books. I’m excited to see how it all plays out, but nervous as hell that I
won’t be able to pull it off.

After Rex’s book I’ll give the readers what they’ve been
begging for, Eve will finally get her HEA. Next in the series will be Braeden,
Blake’s brother. His book will be fun to write because he’s so much like Blake
and I look forward to getting those boys together for our entertainment. I have
a book planned for Killian and Elle who the readers will get to know better in
Fighting to Forgive. The evil Camille will get a book at some point, redeeming
her bad girl image. Then there’s Mason, Caleb, and possibly Talon. There’s also
a few other story ideas that aren’t MMA related that I’d like to explore.

by JB Salsbury

What do you do when everything you avoid, turns out to be exactly what you need?
Easy and predictable, just the way he likes it, Blake Daniels flies through life the way he burns through women: on his terms, no regrets.
With his fighting career in full swing, he's on the threshold of title contention. But when his training is compromised by injury, the stakes grow impossibly higher. The rage that fuels his punches also chips away at his focus, and he risks losing everything he cares about.
He won’t let that happen. Not again.
Layla’s through with men. After a marriage that never should’ve happened, she hopes to reclaim the pieces of the woman she lost years ago.
Emotional abuse has left her insecure and terrified. A master at faking what she’s not feeling, she masks her self-doubt in false confidence.
She’ll never let another man hurt her. Not again.
Chased by shadows of the past, Blake and Layla know what they don’t want, but their hearts have a different plan. As a web of lies and betrayal threatens to destroy them, they’re forced to make a choice.
Is love enough to heal even the deepest wounds?

Purchase:

Author Bio:

Bestselling author JB Salsbury lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and two kids. She spends the majority of her day as a domestic engineer. But while she works through her daily chores, a world of battling alphas, budding romance, and impossible obstacles claws away at her subconscious, begging to be released to the page.
Her love of good storytelling led her to earn a degree in Media Communications. With her journalistic background, writing has always been at the forefront, and her love of romance prompted her to sink her free time into novel writing.
Fighting for Flight is her first novel in the MMA romance series.

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